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Globalization failing to
create new, quality jobs or reduce poverty
ILO (International Labour Organization) report sees wide gaps in wages, productivity gains
GENEVA (ILO News) - Global economic growth is increasingly failing to translate into new and better jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty, according to a new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) here today. In the report, the ILO points out that within this global trend, different regions show mixed results in terms of job creation, productivity results, wage improvements and poverty reduction.
Taking
a global view, the 4th Edition of Key Indicators of the
Labour Market (KILM) (Note 1) says that currently, half the
world's workers still do not earn enough to lift themselves
and their families above the US $2 a day poverty line.
"The key message is that
up to now better jobs and income for the world's workers has
not been a priority in policy-making", said ILO
Director-General Juan Somavia. "Globalization has so far not
led to the creation of sufficient and sustainable decent
work opportunities around the world. That has to change, and
as many leaders have already said we must make decent work a
central objective of all economic and social policies. This
report can be a useful tool for promoting that objective."
The study finds that while in some areas of Asia economic
expansion is fostering solid growth in jobs and improvements
in living conditions, other areas such as Africa and parts
of Latin America are seeing increasing numbers of people
working in less favorable conditions, especially in the
agricultural sector. The KILM also says that for millions of
workers, new jobs often provide barely enough income to lift
them above the poverty line, or are far below any adequate
measure of satisfying and productive work. The total number
of working women and men living on less than $2 a day has
not fallen over the past decade although at 1.38 billion it
is a smaller share of global employment at just below 50 per
cent, a decline from 57 per cent in 1994.
The report emphasizes that in many developing economies the
problem is mainly a lack of decent and productive work
opportunities rather than outright unemployment. Women and
men are working long and hard for very little because their
only alternative is to have no income at all.
The WTO, apart from being incredibly powerful, is also incredibly secretive,and completely unaccountable to citizens of any country whom its decisions affect. Officially, its decisions are made by voting or consensus.
However, developed countries, especially the so-called “quad” countries (U.S., Canada, Japan and the EU), repeatedly make key decisions in closed meetings, excluding other WTO nations. The WTO meets in Geneva – one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Negotiations occur all year round, but many developing countries can’t afford permanent delegations and so are deprived of both representation and participation opportunities, while richer countries negotiate in their absence.
The WTO allows countries to challenge
each others’ laws and regulations as violations of WTO rules. In this
Dispute Settlement Process, cases are decided by a panel of three
unelected trade bureaucrats. There are no conflict of interest rules and
the panellists often have little appreciation of domestic law or of
government responsibility to protect workers, the environment or human
rights.
Thus, it’s not surprising that – with one exception – every single
environmental or public health law challenged at the WTO has been ruled
illegal. WTO tribunals operate in secret. Documents, hearings
and briefs are confidential. Only national governments are allowed to
participate,
even when a state or local law is being challenged.
There are no outside appeals. Once a final
WTO ruling is issued, losing countries have a set time to implement one
of only three choices: change their law to conform to the WTO
requirements, pay permanent compensation to the winning country, or face
trade sanctions.
Issues surrounding the effects of WTO agreements are rarely debated in
national parliaments. There has never been a popular referendum on WTO
membership or on WTO agreements in any country in the world. In
Australia, Federal Cabinet can ratify trade agreements without a vote of
Parliament, and as a result trade agreements are rarely debated,
except in special Senate committees.
